Even Hell Has A Silver Lining
by finaldecember
Summary: Owen discovers that, as of 2009, Torchwood Three is little more than a shell and demands to know why. Unfortunately, the Doctor seems to be carefully avoiding his questions. Takes place after "Coming To The Surface". Contains some spoilers for CoE


"Doctor, you'd better come take a look at this. I think the Tardis is actually trying to give me some false information. Or it's showing me something that happens in another dimension. Either way, this is just wrong."

Owen shook his head and scrolled down through the page of information displayed on the monitor in front of him. After learning just how long it would probably take them to get to their next destination, he'd asked the Doctor if there were any databases in the Tardis' computer that he could search through for information on Torchwood and what his former teammates might be up to now. So far, he wasn't liking what he'd come up with.

"Doctor? What the hell are you doing down there," he asked, bending down to look under the console when he realized that the man he'd been trying to carry on a conversation with was, for all intents and purposes, ignoring him. Not an easy feat, considering that the Doctor had been tinkering with something under the section of floor directly below Owen's feet.

For a few more seconds, the question went unanswered, then the Doctor turned his grease-smeared face up to smile apologetically at Owen. "Sorry, I got a bit carried away. The wiring under here is a mess; I really should get around to sorting it and untangling some of it one of these days. You were saying?"

"It's that database you showed me," Owen sighed, gesturing to the screen and the archival documentation of Torchwood's history that filled it. "Remember how I've been trying to find out about some of the people I worked with at Torchwood? Well, all of my searches keep coming back to this one article about something that happened with them in 2009. There's still plenty of information about Torchwood Two up in Glasgow and even some about Four, but this seems to be the last information available about Torchwood Three. There's not even much detail to go on, but it says that whatever happened essentially caused the entire Torchwood Institute to fall apart. Two and Four are basically these little fringe groups like the Americans out in Roswell, New Mexico, now. Any idea what this thing might be trying to cover up?"

The Doctor sighed and climbed out of the space he'd wedged himself into, then replaced the section of floor grating and stood up. He only knew bits and pieces of what had happened and even then, only because Jack had spent several weeks with him in the Tardis in an attempt to rid himself of the guilt that plagued his mind because of all the deaths he felt he was responsible for.

"Yeah, unfortunately. It was a horrible event, something I should have been able to stop, but .... I can't even figure out what species those aliens were and I have a feeling that stopping them would take knowing anything and everything you can about them. All I do know is that they did more damage in five days than I've seen in years. The Daleks are capable of destroying entire worlds, but these creatures.... They got inside people's heads and made them believe something they hadn't ever dared to - that the universe is a hostile place capable of destroying them from the inside, that there are some species out there willing to use humans as a kind of crop." The Doctor paused and shook his head slightly as he shut down the display of information. "By the time everything was over and done, there were nearly a hundred deaths and all related to the simple fact that a mysterious alien race were using human children to get high. When someone stood up to them and said that their plan wasn't going to work, they released a virus that killed everyone in the building they'd taken as their base of operations."

Owen frowned and leaned back against the railing that circled the console, completely unsure how to process what the Doctor had just said. An alien race that even the Doctor couldn't identify sounded like it could devastate every planet it visited before anyone had a chance to react - especially if it had been as difficult to stop them as the Doctor made it seem. "So.... let me guess. You went back to that point in history because of a distress signal or a story from some humans on a distant planet hundreds of years in the future? Because we haven't been back to Earth since you rescued me and that was nearly a year before those aliens tried to harvest human children to use them as drugs."

The Doctor almost smiled at this; it was so easy to forget that some of the things he'd done might not have happened yet in the time lines of the various people he traveled with. "No, that's more Jack's style than my own. Well, except for the distress call; I have answered one before, but it was just the once and the woman who'd sent the call wasn't exactly the nicest person I've ever met - kept talking about how I wasn't 'her Doctor' yet, as if I wasn't 'worthy' somehow of helping her. Of course, there's always the possibility that I do meet her at some point, or that she's someone I used to know and just forgotten about. God, I hope it's not that. I'd hate to think I've done something awful and forgotten I did it, so I can't even apologize. Anyway, if you try to match up our time lines, I was about eight years ahead of you when I got the call from Jack that you were in trouble.

"And before you ask, the reason there's so little information in there about the destruction of Torchwood Three is that the information I have was given to me by Jack when he left Earth to find me. That information is all he gave me. Well, there were a few other details, but he didn't want them on any official records. Even managed to get them wiped from Earth records of the event, which is pretty impressive even for someone like him. He was so deeply involved that I think anyone, if they were in his place, would want it covered up out of shame or because they care that deeply about how the world views them."

The look on Jack's face when the Tardis materialized on New Earth was something the Doctor would never forget - regret, sorrow, self-loathing .... every negative emotion it was possible to feel all mixed up with a tiny shred of hope. The Doctor had picked up a signal from Jack's wristband and followed it without even checking to see where or when he might end up. He just knew that there were very few reasons why Jack would bother to send out that kind of signal, though he didn't ask what the reason might be. When everything had finally come spilling out several days later, they were on a planet he hadn't visited since his fifth life, when his two companions had desperately needed some time to just stay put and do nothing but relax. The Doctor had been, to say the least, surprised by what Jack had admitted to being responsible for - especially the death of Ianto Jones, the young man he had only ever seen via the Subwave Network.

"Doctor, tell me what happened," Owen said, straightening himself up and crossing his arms over his chest. It was a stance he'd taken many times before when Jack was avoiding telling the team something they had the right to know. "Avoiding questions might have worked with other companions - it might have even worked with Rose - but I've gotten enough of that from Jack to be sick of it. Just talk to me, Doctor. Something tells me you need to do more of that anyway."

Mentioning certain former companions had become a bit of a taboo subject without much discussion on the matter. Owen had asked a grand total of one time about the enormous parka he'd found in the wardrobe room and the slinky Victorian-era dress that had been in his own closet; the Doctor had spent the next three days speaking to Owen only when it was absolutely necessary. The way the expression on the Doctor's face changed, Owen was expecting the same thing to happen again. But no, this time he got a response, though it was little more than a string of names.

"Clement McDonald, John Frobisher, Mr. Frobisher's wife and two children, Steven Carter, Rupesh Patanjali, Toshiko Sato, and Ianto Jones. There were other deaths, as I said, but those are the names I know. Technically, Toshiko died the same day I rescued you, but you deserve to know about her as well since you worked with her for so long." As soon as the words were out, the Doctor crossed his own arms, as if in silent challenge.

Owen didn't say anything; he had never heard any of the other names during his time with Torchwood, but those last two.... "We went out one night for drinks, the whole team. Even Gwen showed up and this was right after she got engaged. I think she was the one who started it, but at one point, we were asking each other all these questions about which one of the team would be more likely to do something. My turn came around and I asked everyone who they thought would be most likely to beat the Torchwood Curse. You know, how everyone who works for Torchwood seems to die before they turn 30? Everyone said it would be Tosh and Ianto. Just goes to show that life is shit. It doesn't matter what you do to try and change- Doctor, how dangerous would it be to go back to an event that isn't very well documented?"

"No, Owen. I know what you're thinking and we can't do it. Jack asked me the same thing and I had to give him the same answer, as much as it hurt to see the look in his eyes when he realized there was no more hope of bringing Ianto back from the dead. Somehow, he knew it had worked with you, so he was hoping the same could be done for the man he was starting to admit he loved. But it couldn't be done then and it can't be done now." The Doctor turned away from Owen then and lifted up the floor panel he'd been working under earlier, ending the conversation as firmly as he could without it turning into a yelling match. Just as he took his hands away after making sure the panel would stay up, it fell back into place - assisted by Owen, who was now standing on the panel to prevent the Doctor from avoiding the conversation yet again.

"You can't just give up because of how dangerous it is to go back into already established events. Doctor, you do it all the time, so why stop now? Why is this risk too big for you to handle? I'm not saying we have to try saving Tosh. If it hadn't been for her helping me, the entire city of Cardiff would have been destroyed. I'm not even asking for a guarantee that we'll be able to save Ianto. One trip, one try at rescuing him." Owen reached down and pulled the Doctor to his feet, his eyes fixed on the Time Lord's face. "Even the deepest pit of Hell has to have a silver lining, right?"

For the next few minutes, the only sound in the console room was the low humming of the engines as the Tardis whirled through the Vortex. The Doctor had seen what this sort of rescue attempt could turn into; with Rose, it had nearly meant the destruction of the entire world. It could mean the same thing this time around if they weren't careful and he wanted to hold to his previous refusal, but Owen was right. Taking big risks was as much a part of the Doctor's life as breathing, even on the days when he was going somewhere with the intention of relaxing for a while. Backing away from Owen, he turned to face the console and started fiddling with switches and buttons that spread over two panels.

"Owen, I hope you're up for some running, because we're about to do quite a bit...."


End file.
